The present invention relates to a nozzle assemblies for structural firefighting and, more particularly, to a nozzle assembly that incorporates a nozzle stem for controlling the flow of fluid though the nozzle assembly.
Many firefighters/fire departments prefer the use of solid stream nozzles for structural firefighting. The traditional solid stream nozzle provides a single fixed discharge orifice, with no acceptable provisions for the nozzle operator to vary the flow rate through the nozzle. The flow rate can only be reduced by throttling an attached shutoff valve, typically of the ball valve type. This technique results in the loss of the desirable qualities of a solid firefighting stream, namely its reach and cohesiveness. The alternative is to shut off the control valve to stop flow to the nozzle and attach a different size nozzle tip. However, this action is often undesirable or impossible to safely accomplish within the firefighting environment.
Accordingly, there is a need for a solid stream nozzle that is adjustable within the firefighting environment without the attendant loss of the stream quality associated when throttling a conventional solid stream nozzle or the loss of use of the nozzle when changing out the nozzle tip.